Arts & Culture | Theater

For a musical about the ravages of time on an ancestral heritage, “Fiddler on the Roof” has itself aged remarkably well. While much has changed in the half-century since “Fiddler” first had its Broadway debut, the Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick-Joseph Stein musical inspired by the dissolution of the Eastern European Jewish way of life still crystallizes for American Jews the value of their Jewish roots.

New York is a mecca for Jewish theater of all kinds, but budding Jewish playwrights often have a difficult time getting their creations in front of audiences. Now comes JFest, a festival of three remarkably different new Jewish works. The festival kicks off this weekend at the JCC in Manhattan after runs at the JCCs in West Hartford, Conn., and Wayne, N.J.

If anyone believed in the power of freedom, it was Ayn Rand. In her best-selling novels, “The Fountainhead” and “Atlas Shrugged,” Rand, an atheist Jewish immigrant from Russia, articulated an ideology of individualism that still holds sway in American political and economic life, particularly among conservatives whose faith in the free market is absolute.

Aliza Shane’s new play, “Mein Uncle,” is loosely based on the relationship between Hitler and Geli Raubal, his half-niece, with whom he was sexually obsessed. The play, which is more fantasy than history, asks whether the abuse of power in a relationship can have repercussions that extend into the wider world. “Mein Uncle,” which began performances this week, runs through June 8 in the East Village.

Many Holocaust survivors have harrowing tales of persevering against the odds. But in few such stories does courage shine through in quite the same way as in Carrie Robbins’ multifaceted play, “The Diamond Eater,” about a jeweler who swallows his precious stones in order to retrieve them later for barter.

Inspired by immigrant-themed stories from The New York Times from a century ago, Ryan Gilliam and Michael Hickey’s new site-specific musical, “The News,” is running on street corners, parks, and other venues on the Lower East Side. As the audience members, who are wearing special MP3 players, move from one place to the next, the youthful 31-member company (ages 12 to 16) dances to pre-recorded music that only the audience can hear.